I love you. These three words and eight letters are a big deal for so many of us. But why? What is it about this sentence that causes us to be so cautious, so afraid? I have used this term very carefully. Not all my exes have heard me saying these eight letters to them. After being burned in the past, it takes a lot out of me to say these words, and as I have learned, I am not the only one. So, why is that?

When you say I love you to your partner, you let them in. You open up your heart for them. You are vulnerable and exposed. You put all your cards on the table and hope the other side, in its turn, will return the same feelings. Bearing yourself in front of another person isn’t an easy task. Considering you can’t predict the response and the outcome, this is a very serious move. We, as humans, like to preserve things if they are working well for us. Why risk it?

I don’t have the best dating record. A lot of my exes have hurt me and scared me deeply. I used to be more open with myself and my feelings, less cautious. See, what happened was that one of my previous boyfriends told me he loves me after I told him that myself. However, a few days later, I found up he was cheating on me. Following this incident, my guards came up. Ever since saying those three words and eight letters has become a serious task for me.

However, relationships like the one I’m in at the moment, make it easier to open up and express one’s true feelings. Being in a healthy and committed relationship with the right person opened my eyes to a whole different world. It made me realize that letting someone in can be the best experience when with the right person. A person who is mature enough to commit, to mean these words. And believe me, when someone tells you these three words and eight letters in return, there is nothing greater.

Now looking back I don’t regret all the previous times I said these words to someone else. At the time, I meant what I said, and that is what counts. I stand behind my emotions, they were true. You just have to be true to yourself. To know that you know what you say and mean it. It doesn’t matter what they say or if they mean it, it matters that you stand behind your emotions, no matter the outcome. You need to trust yourself. You need to know your worth. You need to love yourself first. Only when you truly love yourself you can love others.

So, open up. Dare to share your true feelings. However, you must make sure that you are in a place of self-love and that you know your worth. It is only then that you can open up to others without fear. You might not get the outcome you wished for, but you revealed your emotions and was true to yourself. These three words and eight letters might be scary to say, but hearing them back… it’s worth the risk.